Academic Accommodation

Requests for Academic Accommodation

As a Brescia student you will need to meet with an Academic Advisor. An Academic Advising appointment can be booked by calling The Hive at Brescia at 519-858-5151.

Medical Accommodation

The University recognizes that a student’s ability to meet his/her academic responsibilities may, on occasion, be impaired by medical illness. Illness may be acute (short term), or it may be chronic (long term), or chronic with acute episodes. The University further recognizes that medical situations are deeply personal and respects the need for privacy and confidentiality in these matters. However, in order to ensure fairness and consistency for all students, academic accommodation for work representing 10% or more of the student’s overall grade in the course shall be granted only in those cases where there is documentation indicating that the student was seriously affected by illness and could not reasonably be expected to meet his/her academic responsibilities.

Documentation shall be submitted, as soon as possible, to The Hive at Brescia together with an academic accommodation request form specifying the nature of the accommodation being requested. These documents will be retained in the student’s file, and will be held in confidence in accordance with the University’s Official Student Record Information Privacy Policy. Once the petition and supporting documents have been received and assessed, appropriate academic accommodation shall be determined by the Dean’s Office in consultation with the student’s instructor(s). Academic accommodation may include extension of deadlines, waiver of attendance requirements for classes/labs/tutorials, arranging Special Exams or Incompletes, re-weighting course requirements, or granting late withdrawals without academic penalty. Academic accommodation shall be granted only where the documentation indicates that the onset, duration and severity of the illness are such that the student could not reasonably be expected to complete his/her academic responsibilities. (Note – it will not be sufficient to provide documentation indicating simply that the student “was seen for a medical reason” or “was ill.”)
Whenever possible, students who require academic accommodation should provide notification and documentation in advance of due dates, examinations, etc. Students must follow up with their professors and their Academic Advisor in a timely manner.

Documentation from Family Physicians and Walk-In Clinics

A Western Student Medical Certificate (SMC) is required where a student is seeking academic accommodation. This documentation should be obtained at the time of the initial consultation with the physician or walk-in clinic. Hard copies of the SMC are available from The Hive at Brescia.

Documentation from Student Health Services

Students wishing to obtain documentation from Student Health Services will be required to have a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) completed during their appointment. Students will be required to pay $20.00 to have the SMC completed by their doctor. The form is available by following the link above.